Tools, tips and education to help you live the life you choose

Thought we’d have another how to week.  Have you ever seen that orangey sort of symbol there on the left and not been sure what it is and what it is for?  This post if for those who don’t know what it is and how to use it.

If you enjoy reading blogs or other sites that are updated from time to time with new posts or articles then this orange thing is for you.  It is called RSS or Really Simple Syndication if you want the full name.  If you join an RSS feed for a site then it will notify you when content is added to the site.  This means you don’t have to spend time checking all your favourite blogs and sites to see if new stuff has been added.

You need feed reading software to make the most of this.  Just go to Google or your favourite search engine and do a search for RSS reader and it will come up with a whole heap of suggestions.  There are lots of free ones out there.  One thing to consider is whether you want a web based one or standalone.  What does that mean, well if you choose something like Google Reader, it is attached to your Google account and therefore you can use it whatever computer you are at.  If you choose a stand alone one then you can only use it on the computer you installed it on.  So it all depends on how many computers you use as to what works for you.

Once you have that sorted it is simply a case of going to your favourite sites and clicking on the RSS feed button and adding it to your list.  You can then use your reader as an easy way of seeing which of your favourite sites has new material on it and read or view it directly in your reader.  How easy is that?

That’s it for this week a short and sweet intro to RSS,  Give it a go and see if it works for you.

This is the first in a series of posts where I will cover some of the things out there in the Internet world that may seem basic to many but to many others they are things they do not fully understand or have not tried yet.

Commenting on blogs is something that is simple to do – once you know how.  It is an essential part of the blogging world, part of what it is all about, creating an interactive environment, a conversation with your readers.  If you haven’t already ventured to add comments to blog posts you have read then I will run through some of the basics here.

First step is to read the blog post and then, if you decide you wish to add a comment look for some sort of link which says comments.  This is in different formats on all the blogs.  On mine there is a banner at the bottom of the post saying ‘Leave Your Comment’.  Click on this link.

You will then generally find a few boxes to fill in.  As a minimum there will be a space for your name, email and your comment.  This is fairly self expanatory, enter your name as you want it to appear.  Your email will not appear on the blog so no one will see it.  Then it is a simple matter of entering your comment and clicking on the Submit (or something similar) button.  Congratulations you have submitted a comment to a blog – it is that simple.

Sometimes there will be additional fields that can be entered or ticked.   Website is a common one and allows you to enter your website if you have one.  On my blog you can also tick a box and you will automatically be emailed if additional comments are added – make sure you add your correct email address.

Ok, so the  mechanics of adding a comment are fairly simple, what are some tips for commenting.  I have taken these out of the newsletter this week.

• You enter your name and possibly website in separate boxes and these will automatically appear at the bottom of our comment so you don’t need to put your name again at the bottom of your comment.
• Try to put in more than just one word like ‘Great’ or ‘Thanks’.  These sort of comments can be picked up in the automatic spam filters and never get published.
• That brings us to spam.  Please don’t spam, for instance adding unrelated content just to advertise your product or website.

The best comments are those that offer an opinion, add to the conversation or explain how the post has helped them.  For example, having read this you could add a comment explaining how this has started you commenting on blogs and how you are enjoying it or provide some more tips you have for making comments.

Thats about it for commenting.  As you can see it is pretty simple so get out there and start commenting – especially on this blog!